Israeli strikes have killed at least 72 people across Gaza overnight and into Saturday, according to Palestinian health workers amid growing hopes for a ceasefire after 21 months of war.
Three children and their parents were killed in an Israeli strike on a tent camp in Muwasi, near the southern city of Khan Younis. Relatives said they were struck while they were sleeping.
“What did these children do to them? What is their fault?” the children’s grandmother, Suad Abu Teim, said as others knelt to kiss their bloodied faces and wept. Some placed red flowers in the body bags.
Also among the dead were 12 people near the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced people, and eight more in apartments, according to staff at Shifa Hospital.
More than 20 bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital, according to Gaza health officials.
Hopes for a ceasefire have been growing over the past week. (AP: Jehad Alshrafi)
A midday strike killed 11 people on a street in eastern Gaza City. Their bodies were taken to Al-Ahli Hospital.
Another strike on a gathering in eastern Gaza City killed eight, including five children, the hospital said.
A strike on a gathering at the entrance to the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed two, according to Al-Awda Hospital.
Hope for ceasefire agreement in coming week
US President Donald Trump said there could be a ceasefire agreement within the next week.
Taking questions from reporters on Friday, he said: “We’re working on Gaza and trying to get it taken care of.”
An official with knowledge of the situation and speaking anonymously told The Associated Press that Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer would arrive in Washington next week for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran and other subjects.
There have been sporadic indirect talks between Israel and Hamas since Israel broke the latest ceasefire in March, continuing its military campaign in Gaza and furthering the territory’s dire humanitarian crisis.
Some 50 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, less than half of them believed to be alive. They were among 251 people taken hostage when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The militants also killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
“What more is left to do in Gaza that has not already been done? Who else is left to eliminate?” Yotam Cohen, brother of hostage Nimrod Cohen, said on Saturday evening as weekly rallies by families and supporters resumed following Israel’s ceasefire with Iran.
More than 6,000 killed since latest ceasefire ended
The Israel-Gaza war has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, while displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million and causing a hunger crisis.
It said more than half of the dead were women and children. It said the dead include 6,089 killed since the end of the latest ceasefire.
Israel said it only targeted militants and blamed civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing the militants of hiding among civilians.
Israeli strikes hit a tent camp in Gaza on Saturday. (AP: Jehad Alshrafi)
There is hope among families of Israeli hostages that Mr Trump’s involvement in securing the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran might lead to more pressure for a deal in Gaza.
Israelis widely supported their prime minister’s strikes on Iran, and Benjamin Netanyahu could now feel he has more space to end the war in Gaza, something his far-right governing partners have opposed.
Hamas has repeatedly said it is prepared to free all the hostages in exchange for an end to the war in Gaza.
Mr Netanyahu says he will end the war only once Hamas is disarmed and exiled, something the group has rejected.
Hundreds have been killed while seeking food
Meanwhile, hungry Palestinians are enduring a catastrophic situation in Gaza.
After preventing all food from entering into the territory for two and a half months, Israel has allowed only a trickle of supplies in since mid-May.
More than 500 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded while seeking food since the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began distributing aid in the territory about a month ago, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Palestinian witnesses say Israeli troops have opened fire at crowds on roads heading toward the sites.
Hundreds have been killed in Gaza while seeking food. (AP: Jehad Alshrafi)
The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots and that it is investigating incidents in which civilians have been harmed while approaching the sites.
Thousands of Palestinians walk for hours to reach the sites, moving through Israeli military zones.
Separate efforts by the United Nations to distribute limited food have been plagued by armed gangs looting trucks and by crowds of desperate people offloading supplies from convoys.
Saturday’s death toll included two people killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting to receive aid near the Netzarim corridor, a road that separates northern and southern Gaza, according to Al-Shifa and Al-Awda hospitals, which each received one body.
There was no immediate Israeli military comment on the incident.
AP
Israeli strikes kill at least 72 people in Gaza as war rages on
